Rotation-wise, Cueto, Leake, Bailey, and Arroyo all appear to have spots locked down. But what about outside of them? We have three other options (not counting Lecure for spot starts).

1) Wood- Forget about him? He was supposed to be one of our TOR starters this year. But while he didn't have the quite the atrocious stats of Volquez, he didn't do himself any favors afterwards after demotion to AAA. Let's not forget, though, that he's still injury-free, and he's shown the ability to do very well in the majors in the past (remember the perfect game duel with Halladay?).

2) Volquez- Hmm... what to do with this guy? He seemed to have his act in order with some impressive AAA stats after his demotion, but his major league act was truly brutal. His upside is as good as any, and the pitches are there, but he just can't get people out.

3) Chapman- Easily the biggest enigma the team has had in years. He was effective in the majors when he wasn't having a total mental and mechanical breakdown, and he has one of the biggest arms anyone has ever seen. Yet he's been struggling so far in the AFL in his transition to a starter, and his stuff isn't always there when he needs it to be.

So who do you trust with the 5th starter role? Do you give one of these guys a crack at it to start the year and hope the light clicks for someone, or are they all AAA backups until further notice?

UPRedsFan

11-04-2011, 10:16 PM

Spring training will mean something this year. It's Volquez' spot to lose in my opinion because he's had the most success as a ML starter.